Rugby League Writer

"The consistency hasn’t been where I like it to be": James Maloney. Photo: Getty Images

James Maloney believes the Roosters unlocked the secret to their attacking success when they piled on five tries against St George Illawarra last week.

The Roosters regained their attacking mojo and put an indifferent period behind them to beat the Dragons, having lost to bottom placed Cronulla and Newcastle in recent weeks.

The five-eighth said the Roosters found the perfect mix between controlled and attacking football.

“The style of play we used, we started to get it right,” Maloney said. “It’s pleasing. It’s just a matter of building it. We’ve had other games where we’ve got it right but we’ve just lacked finding it week in, week out.

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“We know the ability in the side, at times it’s just a matter of harnessing how much we play and how much we let ourselves go. It’s about finding the mix.

“Defensively, we went pretty well. We just got back to playing a bit more natural footy, which we haven’t found too consistently this year. It’s something we’ve been working on. Hopefully it’s a matter of building it.”

Maloney starred for the defending premiers in arguably his best game of the year in their win against St George Illawarra. He laid on two try assists for the first time in five games as the Roosters finished 30-22 winners.

“My form has been mixed,” Maloney said. “The consistency hasn’t been where I like it to be. I’ve had good games throughout the year. It’s pleasing to put in a decent performance.

“I’ve got to make sure my performance is consistent. Being in one of the key positions in the side and a person who touches the ball quite a lot, if you’re off it can impact how the side works and functions – so it’s pretty important."

The Roosters are set to go head to head with Daniel Mortimer for the first time since last year’s premiership winner switched clubs to join the Gold Coast midway through this season. Winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck said there was plenty of banter during the build-up to the clash at Allianz Stadium on Monday night, as Mortimer kept in regular contact with his former teammates.

“It’s cool because we keep in contact with him,” Tuivasa-Sheck said. “We keep telling him we are going to get him and he is going to get us. It’s going to be a good game. We want to go all out. It’s been pretty crazy talking about old times and how we miss each other.”

Meanwhile winger Daniel Tupou is in line to make an early return from a back injury, having not played since featuring for NSW in game three of the Origin series.